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Children - no more childlike?



The above is a real picture of the condition of school education in India.  A front page report in the Delhi edition of The Hindu (13 Nov 2013) carries the photo from a teacher training institute in Dharwad.  The institute (DIET) which trains primary school teachers has only one student, and 6 teachers.  The previous batch had just two students.

The Times of India carries another report on the same day: 'Need Parenting Help? Call a Coach.'  More and more parents are turning to experts for advice on how to deal with their children!

Why have children become such a problem that parents need expert advice
and teachers seem to be terrified of them - so terrified that teacher training institutes are running the danger of shutting down?


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  1. jahidNovember 13, 2013 at 5:14 PM

    Kalyug hai Sir, ghor Kalyug :)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Tomichan MatheikalNovember 13, 2013 at 5:56 PM

      Jahid, I would like to see Kalyug from a secular, scientific view and use the concept of entropy: nature tends from order to disorder. The more evil is allowed to creep in, the quicker will entropy be. We allowed too many undesirable things to children... Now they think getting elders shut up in jail is their right!

      Delete
  2. AnonymousNovember 13, 2013 at 5:48 PM

    This is really a Sad State of Affairs...Until and Unless Childrens knows the importance of Education,How can our Country Prosper...

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Tomichan MatheikalNovember 13, 2013 at 5:59 PM

      Children are like clay, Harsha. It is up to the adults in their life to mould that clay. But adults like teachers have been rendered helpless by various systems.

      Delete
  3. JeevanNovember 14, 2013 at 1:34 PM

    Oh my God! This is terrible. A noble profession on it's way out?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Tomichan MatheikalNovember 14, 2013 at 6:36 PM

      Teaching is too old a profession to become extinct! But at what level will it survive? Who will be the people that carry it forward? These are questions worth asking.

      Delete
  4. drchinmoyhazarikaNovember 14, 2013 at 7:54 PM

    Traditional "moulding" does not work as it did before. The "moulding" need not be onto children alone, the "moulders" may need to be moulded too. Hence, it becomes such that the would-be teachers know what to mould the children into.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Tomichan MatheikalNovember 14, 2013 at 10:39 PM

      "Moulding" is not perhaps the right imagery, Chinmoy. It's a very old concept that I borrowed for convenience's sake. Pruning would be a better imagery. The gardener should know when to prune, how to prune and which parts to be cut off.

      The idealism apart, would you ever be willing to be a teacher? :)

      Delete
    2. drchinmoyhazarikaNovember 18, 2013 at 10:57 PM

      I already am :)

      Delete
  5. UnknownNovember 15, 2013 at 5:48 PM

    This is quite depressing.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Tomichan MatheikalNovember 15, 2013 at 6:05 PM

      The actual situation in classrooms and school campuses is even more depressing, Pankti. Unfortunately I can only write in analogies and riddles. My next post will be on the same theme but written against the background of Golding's novel, 'The Lord of the Flies'.

      Delete
    2. UnknownNovember 15, 2013 at 6:20 PM

      I look forward to it.

      Delete
  6. Jeena R. PapaadiNovember 15, 2013 at 10:31 PM

    I thought youngsters were not interested in the teaching profession because of the unattractive remuneration compared to the other (popular) professions.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Tomichan MatheikalNovember 16, 2013 at 6:53 AM

      It's a complex situation, Jeena, as complex as most social problems are. The remuneration is just one dimension.

      Delete

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